Friday, September 28, 2007

Baba Nand Singh Ji's stay at Sachkhand Sri Hazoor Sahib

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

In Sherpura village there was no Gurudwara; but a naked udasi sadhu who used to live in a shack outside the village kept a saroop of Dhan Dhan Satguru Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj and advised all the villagers to come and bow before the king of kings before starting their work in the morning.
One day Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji asked the udasi sadhu several questions on where Akaal Purakh is and how one could find him?

The udasi sadhu said, ‘Satguru Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj contains Akaal Purakh’s word and one should search Guru Ji in order to reach him.’

On further questioning by Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji the udasi sadhu said, ‘Young lion of Guru Ji, you seem to have a discerning intellect. You are asking me questions that are beyond my comprehension. If you want answers to all your questions then you should go to Sachkhand Sri Hazoor Sahib Ji where the spiritual power of the tenth master, Satguru Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj the king of kings and the saint of saints resides’.

These words of the sadhu got engraved on Sant Ji’s heart.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Rain, Rain, Rain

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Once, Sant Baba Attar Singh Ji visited Kohat, in the Northwest Frontier Province, on an invitation from the Sangat there. Upon Sant Ji’s arrival two Sikhs came to the railway station to receive him. From the railway station the Sikhs and Sant Ji took a tonga to go to the city.

On the way to the city a few Pathans caught sight of Sant Ji. After studying the glow around his face and looking at his simple attire they assumed that he must be a messenger of Akaal Purakh. The Pathans began to run after the tonga until they managed to get it to stop. When the tonga stopped the Pathans in their native language began to speak.

One of the Sikhs who Sant Ji was travelling with began to translate what the pathans were saying. Bhai Aroor Singh looked at Baba Ji and said, ‘these pathans are begging you to do an ardas on their behalf for rain. They say it hasn’t rained here for three years. If this barren spell continues their children will be dead within the month.’

Sant Ji looked towards the skies and told Bhai Aroor Singh to tell the Pathans to go back to their homes and to pray to Akaal Purakh for rain. Bhai Sahib did as he was told but the pathans did not move. Instead they kept standing in front of the tonga whilst repeating their request over and over again.

Eventually Sant Ji began to sing a shahbad on the roadside. As Sant Ji was singing the skies were ripped open by Dhan Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj as rain began to fall.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Baba Nand Singh Ji and the thief

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

During my stay in Punjab this summer I spent a lot of time at Sri Nanaksar Sahib Ji where I met countless Gursikhs who were oozing with Naam and Simran. There were many old Singhs present who shared many stories with me about Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji. This is one of the first ones I heard:

A Sikh of Dhan Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj who lived near Daya Basti in Dehli had come with his entire family to Sri Nanaksar Sahib Ji to be blessed with the darshan of Dhan Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj and Guru Ji’s beloved sevadaar Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji.

The entire family were greatly moved by Sant Ji and the other sangat, who had gathered at the Thaat. Back in Dehli a thief who had been watching their house for some days decided to break in and steal all their valuable clothing, jewellery and other expensive items. He thought that no one would be at home as they had all gone to see some so called holy man.

When no one was looking the thief broke into the house and threw whatever he could find into a big suitcase. Once his suitcase was full he decided to wait until nightfall so that no one would see him leave. When it was dark the thief began to drag the overflowing suitcase outside of the house. To his surprise when he stopped to look at the gate he saw an old man standing guard with a big stick. The thief hid for a while and waited for the old man to go. After half an hour the thief decided to leave the house by going through the roof. When the thief began to climb the stairs he saw the same old man standing on top of the roof waiting with a big stick in his hands.

The thief couldn’t believe his eyes. He quickly ran back into the house with the suitcase and threw some cold water on himself. After sitting down for a while he decided to check on the front gate. To his surprise the old man had disappeared. The thief smiled and ran towards the gate with the suitcase. As soon as he came within a metre of the gate the old man appeared again. The thief quickly turned around and went back to the roof only to find the old man wielding his stick up there too.
In this way the thief kept on going towards the front gate and then up towards the roof only to find Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji stating at him. The thief began to cry and repent as he started to crawl towards the gate without the suitcase. This time the old man did not stand in front of the gate and instead he allowed the thief to leave the house. As the thief closed the gate behind him a thought passed through his head that perhaps the old man was just his mind playing tricks on him. After thinking like this for a few minutes he made up his mind to try and take the suitcase one last time. As the thief turned and looked over the gate he saw the old man carrying the suitcase on his head back into the house.

After a few days the thief returned to the house to meet the owner and his family to apologise for his misdeeds. The thief told the family the whole story about the Saint who had protected their house. When the thief found out it was the same Baba that the family had gone to visit he immediately begged them to take him there. After a long journey the thief was finally blessed with a glimpse of Baba Ji who looked into the thief’s heart and saw that he was truly sorry for all the wrongs he had done in his life. Baba Ji then performed an ardas to Dhan Dhan Satguru Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj to forgive the thief and to bless him with a gursikhi jeevan. It is said that the thief subsequently became a Singh who devoted his entire life to Guru Ji’s Sikhs.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Baba Ji in 2001

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Apologies for being away for so long.

Before posting anything else I’d like to catch up on all the subjects people have asked me to post on, starting with the jeevan of Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji and other Nanaksar Sants followed by some stories of the Sevadaars of Bhai Mani Singh Ji’s Taksaal.

I know I’ve promised to post jeevanis of our beloved sisters and mothers who drank the sweet nectar of martyrdom to honour the oath made by the Khalsa Panth in 1986. Many of these jeevanis are now ready and will be published shortly.

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Bhai Satnam Singh Ji was a devoted Gursikh who had a lot of love for Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji. Bhai Sahib owned the Quality hotel, which is situated at Pahar Ganj in Dehli.

There were a number of different rooms in Bhai Sahib’s hotel, which spanned several floors. On the top floor Bhai Sahib used to keep spare bed sheets and pillowcases. In January 2001 some how a fire broke out which threatened to burn the entire hotel to the ground. A service man who was performing his usual duties in one of the rooms on the top floor noticed smoke seeping through the corridor. He immediately left what he was doing to find the source of the smoke. As the serviceman walked along the corridor he could feel the temperature increasing as flames began to spread along the walls. The serviceman began to fear for his life and immediately began to run towards the stairs to alert Bhai Satnam Singh Ji. As he did this he caught a glimpse of an old pious looking man who was wielding a large stick. According to the service man wherever the stick would go the fire began to dance in that direction.

As the serviceman began to run towards Bhai Satnam Singh Ji’s house he thought that his mind was playing tricks on him; it simply was not possible for any man to stand inside a ring of fire and make it move wherever he pleased. After a few minutes lost in thought the service man reached Bhai Sahib’s house. When he entered the house he quickly met Bhai Satnam Singh Ji and informed him of what was happening at the hotel. As he was conveying this message the serviceman noticed a portrait of the same old man he had seen a few minutes earlier. In a soft voice the service man asked Bhai Sahib whose picture that was. Bhai Sahib smiled and said, ‘it is Sant Baba Nand Singh Ji’.
When Bhai Sahib and the service man reached the hotel the fire had been completely extinguished by Baba Ji.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh